Sir, – I would like to compliment Chris Johns on his article "Desire to own our own home may be going out of fashion" (Business Opinion, July 22nd), which points out that Ireland only became a nation of homeowners at a time when inflation was rampant, credit was available based on secure jobs, with generous government subsidies available for builders and owners. He correctly points out that none of these conditions apply today and are unlikely to apply in the foreseeable future.
What he could have said was that before that period of mass home ownership, Ireland led the world in social and affordable rental housing but then blew that leadership for short term political advantage. We had the most advanced social housing system in the world in the form of labourer cottage legislation of 1883 which empowered local authorities to borrow cheap funding on 63-year terms at low interest rates. This resulted in 50,000 rental-based rural houses being built and let at affordable rents.
These 50,000 “labourer cottages” went on to be joined by another 300,000 homes built by councils after independence and let at cost-based affordable rents. These were for the workers of Ireland who could not afford to rent or purchase their homes.
The real housing tragedy today is that over two-thirds of those State-built houses were sold off cheaply and not replaced and with the residue leased at “differential rents” which did not, and still do not, pay for their management or maintenance. Consequently, we now have only 100,000 State owned houses to make available to social and affordable tenants, and the State is forced to turn to the private sector to make up that deficit.
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Had we stuck with cost-based rents and no tenant purchase, as was done in countries like Austria and Denmark, then we would not have the housing crisis that we have today nor would we have the pressure for home ownership.
Ironically today all the chat in Irish social housing circles is now about the “Vienna housing model” which has all the characteristics of our old labourer cottage schemes.
Chris Johns raised a hard and pertinent question about the issue of home ownership. There are equally hard questions to be asked on State policy regarding State-owned or State-controlled social housing. Politicians must realise that housing requires consistent policies over the long term like those in most European countries. – Yours, etc,
Dr BILL NOWLAN,
Kilcullen,
Co Kildare.